Imagine transforming your outdoor area into a versatile, inviting space where you can unwind, entertain, and enjoy nature without leaving the comfort of your home.
A screen room is more than just an addition to your home; it's a lifestyle enhancement, a retreat for relaxation, and a hub for social get-togethers.
Here, the team at Custom Design & Build dives into the top 10 benefits of a screen room and how they can help you can transform your space.
What is a Screen Room?
A screen room is a unique blend of the comfort the indoors provides, with the fresh air and connectedness that comes with the outdoors.
This semi-outdoor living area is enclosed with screens that invite the natural outdoor environment in, while keeping pests and unwanted debris such as pollen out. Imagine sitting and feeling the gentle breeze while a space that feels both open to nature with the comforts of the indoors, including a roof and protection from rain.
Unlike a traditional room, a screen room is a versatile space where you can enjoy morning meditations, evening relaxation, or simply enjoy your surroundings without leaving the comfort of your home.
How is a Screen Room Different from a Sunroom?
The distinction between a screen room and a sunroom is in their design and the experience each offers. While both bring you closer to the outdoor environment, they cater to different preferences and needs. (1)
A sunroom is like a greenhouse, fully enclosed with glass panels, making it an all-season space. A sunroom is designed to offer a clear view of the outdoors while providing the complete comfort of an indoors, regardless of the weather outside. This often includes air conditioning and heating, which is extended from the pre-existing system.
A screen room, on the other hand, is more welcoming of the outdoor experience. With screens instead of glass panels, you can hear the birds chirping, feel the breeze, and smell the fresh air. This creates a much more authentic and connected experience than a sunroom, though it’s also considered a three-season porch for its inability to keep out the cold.
“The big difference between a screened in porch and a sunroom is how the walls are finished. A screened porch is a roofed structure that uses mesh screen for walls. The difference is that a screened porch will let air pass through the room, giving you the feeling of being outdoors while keeping out the bugs.”
—Forbes
A screen room is ideal for those who want the freshness of the outdoors during the warmer months. It's about embracing the seasonal weather, enjoying the warmth of summer, and indulging a space in the home that only a semi-outdoor room can offer.
10 Benefits of a Screen Room
1. Additional Living Space
The addition of a screen room to your home is like gaining an extra room without the cost and hassle of a full-scale home addition and renovation.
This versatile space can serve different purposes; a place for your morning yoga, a playful area for children, or a quiet nook for working remotely in the warmer months.
The three-seasons capabilities of this space offers multipurpose area that adapts to your changing needs, or simply provides additional indoor space when entertaining guests. The primary benefit is that you have a space where the freshness of the outdoors can be enjoyed, all while protecting you and your guests from the rain.
2. Higher Home Value
A three-season porch, or a screen room, can also enhance your property value. Adding to the home’s resale value with a screen room will provide benefits to the long-term investment of your space.
Homes with unique features like screen rooms often attract more interest in the real estate market. This interest can translate into a higher resale value, making a screen room a financially savvy addition to your property. Plus, it provides you with the immediate gratification of additional space that you can enjoy and use for guest entertainment or late-night conversations. Add some string lights, a couple of chairs or an indoor-hammock, and you’ll be glad for the home-away-from-home.
3. Fewer Pests During Summer
While we all spend the winter dreaming of warmer days, summer evenings are always full of mosquitoes and other pests. Fortunately, a screen room can help with this, providing you with the fresh and comfortable outdoor air and ambiance, with the added protection of built-in bug netting.
This means no more insect repellent or swatting away bugs while you host your next get-together – just uninterrupted relaxation into the night. You won’t miss the smell of citronella candles just as much as you won’t miss having to cancel an outdoor get-together because it started to rain. Now, you have an oasis where you can enjoy the outdoors without the discomforts that come with it.
4. Enhanced Privacy
A screen room offers a secluded escape in your home. While it’s not entirely private in the way that brick and mortar can provide, the screening still provides some barrier from the hustle and bustle of the world. This makes your screenroom an ideal place to catch a peaceful moment or have your morning coffee in peace.
In this way, the screens lining the room provide a barrier for insects, as well as prying eyes. Most screen rooms have short walls while the screens themselves cover most of the walls. If you choose to have your screen room custom designed, the team at Custom Design & Build can help you customize it with the level of privacy you want, raising the solid walls, or creating it with thicker mesh lining.
5. An Affordable Addition
When compared to other options for your next home addition, a screen room is remarkably budget-friendly. This space offers the benefits of an additional room without the substantial costs associated with traditional construction, since it’s partially outdoors. This affordability makes it an accessible option for a wide range of homeowners looking to enhance their living space.
6. Protection from the Elements
Perhaps best of all, a screen room provides protection from the elements, sheltering you from less desirable aspects of being outdoors. Whether it’s bugs, a light summer drizzle, or the harsh glare of the sun – you can count on the screen room’s roofing and netting to appreciate the outdoors in elevated comfort.
7. Improved Curb Appeal
Adding a screen room to your home can significantly enhance its exterior appearance. Even though they are primarily walled with screens, the pillars and roofing can be designed to complement your home’s architecture, creating a seamless addition that looks purposeful and unique. This improved curb appeal is a good source of pride for your home’s new entertaining space, earning the admiration of the neighbors and any guests you have over.
Improvements to the functional outdoor space of the home is one of the best ways to improve curb appeal in a way that reliably adds to the home value during resale, no matter how far away selling the space seems. Homeowners that add a screenroom to their home can expect anywhere from 60% to 80% of the addition costs added onto the home’s resale value, as this enhances the enjoyability of the space and adds square footage in a new and unique way.
8. Additional Room for Entertainment
A screen room is the perfect setting for a variety of social get-togethers that can be unimpeded by sudden rain or a lack of comfortable space. Deck out the space with patio furniture, and you’ll have a perfect backdrop for intimate family dinners, lively game nights, or relaxed evening conversations over wine.
The unique ambiance of a screen room combines indoor comfort with an outdoor setting, making it an ideal space for entertaining guests.
9. More Time Spent Outdoors
With the comfort provided by a screen room, you'll naturally find yourself drawn to spending more time in this semi-outdoors space. This increase in outdoor time is beneficial for your mental and physical health, providing a natural boost to your wellbeing. If you work remotely, it can also be a seasonal working environment for you to sprawl out in, laptop in hand, enjoying the freshness of the outdoors.
10. Less Maintenance Than Outdoor Spaces
A screen room is comparatively low maintenance than an outdoor living space like a patio or backyard garden. Being completely enclosed with screens, a screen room keeps you protected from common outdoor nuisances like falling leaves, debris, unexpected rainfall, or bird droppings. Fortunately for you, this also means far less upkeep to maintain the space and keep it looking clean and presentable.
This ease of maintenance ensures that your screen room remains a place of relaxation, not a source of stress when it’s time to take care of the household chores. The most maintenance you can expect to have to do on a screen room is dusting the finer pollen granules away during spring, and sweeping away debris from foot traffic.
Choose Custom Design & Build LLC for Your Screen Room
Are you considering the addition of a custom-designed screen room and looking for a professional contractor in Baltimore, Harford, or Cecil counties in Maryland, or in southern Pennsylvania to assess your space?
Reach out to Custom Design and Build for a complimentary estimate.
Share with us your vision for a screen room, and we'll collaborate directly with you to craft the perfect indoor-outdoor space you envision, providing expertise and creativity every step of the way.
Whether you have a complete concept in mind or are seeking inspiration, we’re here to offer guidance. We'll discuss every phase of the process, detail the costs involved, and present you with potential designs and the impressive transformations we can achieve.
Reference:
- Forbes, How to Choose Between A Screened Porch or Sunroom, https://www.mrgoglass.com/2019/07/19/how-to-choose-screened-porch-or-sunroom/